France: what conclusions can we draw from the recovery plan?
Just a year ago, after the first confinement imposed by the Covid-19 crisis, the French government presented its recovery plan.
Reuters / Charles Platiau
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Just a year ago, after the first confinement imposed by the Covid-19 crisis, the French government presented its recovery plan.
What conclusions can we draw from this today?
Advertising
Read more
Its role: to support economic activity which had collapsed by 30%, but also "to
build a different country
" by 2030, in the words of Emmanuel Macron.
Worth 100 billion euros, this
recovery plan
is a patchwork of very different measures.
Built on three pillars each with 30 billion euros, it is intended to promote ecological transition, improve the competitiveness of businesses and support employment and social cohesion.
For Henri Sterdyniak, an economist and host of the Club of appalled economists, the results are mixed.
There have certainly been successes, but also shortcomings.
“
In the stimulus plan, there was no doubt more aid was lacking for households in difficulty, for young people in difficulty,”
analyzes Henri Sterdyniak.
There was undoubtedly an excess of subsidies to large companies, which in return did not have to make any commitments in terms of jobs.
On the other hand, overall, activity has been sustained, unemployment has not increased, bankruptcies have not increased… So that is the great success of the recovery plan.
"
A second stimulus plan?
And the economist continues: “
In addition, of course, the recovery plan is a little timid, as to the amount and the sustainability of the sums committed for the ecological transition and for the reindustrialization of France.
And this is why we hope, like many economists, that a second stimulus plan directly focused on the ecological transition and the reindustrialisation of France will be announced in the coming weeks.
"
►
See also:
EU: national recovery plans presented to the European Commission
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
France
Economy
Coronavirus